The donkey is a rustic animal and robust, but like
any animal it can have various health problems. However if you observe
your animal you can detect any change in its behaviour if the donkey
is sad, its head is low and its ears droop, its eyes have no expression,
it does not move its head when somebody calls it...
A donkey rests well on only three legs (one of its posterior feet
is only standing on its toe), a sick donkey would be held upright
equally on its four legs.

However, a donkey which isolates itself from the other
animals and remains always in the same place or which loses its
appetite could have certain health problems. Other symptoms like
a cough, difficulties breathing, suffers from perspiration, diarrhoea,
scratching... has also to be taken very seriously.

That is why it is very important to check regularly
your donkey, as soon as the first symptoms appear, it would certainly
be advisable to call your veterinary surgeon. Certain diseases can
have dramatic consequences for your donkey if they are not treated
in time, or contagious for the other animals.

It should be known certain diseases develop very quickly
in the donkey. Moreover, serious illness is less frequent for the
donkey than the horse, but often more serious.

The health problems of the donkey can be divided into
three main headings: